The invention relates to a high hat stand and particularly to enabling adjustment of the initial height of the movable cymbal operating foot pedal, that is, the distance between the pedal and the upper cymbal, at the time of a performance.
A lower fixed cymbal and an upper movable cymbal are arranged in the upper part of a high hat stand. As the foot pedal at the lower part of the stand is moved typically downward, the upper movable cymbal of the stand is moved correspondingly downward vertically by the operating rod connected between the pedal and the upper movable cymbal, with the musical performance being carried out as the movable cymbal contacts the lower fixed cymbal and is opened away from it. Since the operating rod of the upper movable cymbal is normally given an upward bias by a spring, the performer controls the movable cymbal by stepping on the pedal and lowering it, which moves the upper cymbal down, or by loosening the step on the pedal, which permits the spring to raise the upper cymbal and the pedal. Examples of such a high hat stand are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,898,062 and 4,905,565 and U.S. application Ser. Nos. 773,985 and 574,277, both filed on Aug. 28, 1990.
In this kind of high hat stand, quick and accurate operation or highly responsive operation of the movable cymbal is required to accurately express the will of the performer. This responsiveness is sought through the pedal that moves the cymbal operating rod being capable of being stepped in lightly and of returning quickly. As the operating rod has a normal upward bias provided by a spring, the spring should be weak in order for the pedal to be stepped in lightly. In order for the rod and pedal to return quickly, on the other hand, the spring should be strong. These two requirements are mutually contradictory.
In addition, the performance requires a mechanism that permits a delicate opening and closing of the cymbals, wherein the cymbals can be slightly opened or closed by a delicate pedal operation, and wherein the cymbals are tightly closed when they are in the closed state.
For example, the prior high hat stand of FIG. 7 has a cymbal operating rod 100 and a foot pedal 110 which are directly connected to each other. As a result, the travel distance of the free end of the foot pedal 110 corresponds to the travel distance of the cymbal operating rod, and a force of the same value as the spring pressure of the spring device 105 is required for stepping in the foot pedal 110.
A connective member 106 joins the spring of the spring device and the operating rod to supply a bias to the rod. A chain 107 connects the connective member 106 with the foot pedal 110.
In addition, the starting, undepressed height of the pedal vertically should be variable, depending upon the convenience of the performer or the form of the performance. However, few high hat stands include a mechanism for adjusting the initial height of the foot pedal. In the case where the high hat is used with a drum set having two bass drums or a drum set having a twin pedal, the heights of the pedal plates of the high hat stand and of the bass drum that is arranged alongside it may be uneven, which may inconvenience the performer, or it may be difficult to set the height difference at a height differential that is convenient to the performer, which inhibits a good performance.